Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

Last week at the office, I got a manager requested a second monitor for one of his users. I told him that I could follow through on his request, but there would be a catch: I only had a 17″ flat screen monitor available. His user already had a 19″ monitor. I told him it was going to look a little awkward, but that it would work. The manager said that he had no issues if the monitor sizes were mismatched. So I proceeded to make it happen. Shame on me.

So the guy who got the mismatched monitors apparently made some comments to co-workers regarding me and how I’m the bad guy. At first, I didn’t give it much thought. This sort of thing happens where, although you may try, you can’t make everyone happy. But then I thought, maybe I’ll embrace this. Maybe I can be the villain. I would change my default answer on everything to “NO!”. I could start wearing black all the time. Maybe even work on an evil laugh. I mean, why not give the people what they want?

The problem is that the considerate and understanding co-workers out number the drama queens like the guy previously mentioned. And although I would love to treat the problem children with much more scrutiny than the other co-workers, I have to treat them all the same. I have to be professional regardless if they chose to do the same. So I guess I won’t be doing the villain thing after all. Which sucks because I already have a good villain mustache in mind.

It’s time for Lent! My favorite time of year where I, as a Catholic, get to partake in sacrificing something I enjoy for 6 weeks! Awesome!!!

So here is what I have come up with to give up this year:

Watching Sports

Staying up late

Internet access

Driving

Eating

Sleep

Vitamins

Texting

Pants

Eye drops

Conan O’Brien

Twitter

Softball

Being humorous

Well, after further review, I have come to the conclusion that the above list is largely impossible. Especially the part about not being humorous. Seriously? Can you imagine me not being funny??? Me neither. So I’m just going to give up red meat.

I’m running in the Beach to Bay relay marathon in May. Should be a fun trip with some good friends to Corpus Christi. Not exactly white sands and blue water down there, but it is… um… I got nothing. I don’t think much of Corpus Christi. It just happens to be where the race is, ok? Get off my back.

Either I'm trying to warm up my hands, or I'm playing the harmonica.

Anyway, I’ve decided to participate in as many 5ks as I can before then in preparation for the run. The way I figure, since I will do so many of them, I will have no choice but to be ready come May. A solid plan. So I decide to begin my string of 5k’s in March, since it would have warmed up significantly in San Antonio by then, and I happen to hate running in the cold. Hate it! So this morning when I woke up for my 5k, you could imagine my disgust when I saw that it was 35 degrees outside! WTF?!? March in San Antonio and it’s 35 freakin’ degrees?!? Where is Al Gore when I need him.

I wasn’t a happy camper. I couldn’t feel my hands while running. Breathing in cold air sucks. And I think a little kid passed me by. But in a strange turn of events, I ended up getting 3rd place in my age group. Weird. Maybe I ran faster because I wanted to get it over with? Or maybe I’m just a bad-ass. Yeah, I’m guessing on the former, too. Aside from the frigid temps, it was for a good cause and I’m glad I got to do it. Even though it was freezing, it made me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

So here’s hoping that my next few 5ks are in warmer weather. All are for good causes, which only serves to motivate. And then I’ll be doing the Warrior Dash, the Jailbreak, and possibly the Muddy Buddy. When I’m not traveling this year, I will have plenty to do.

A very good friend of mine has had a very rough 9 months or so. He discovered last summer that his wife of 10 years had been less than faithful. And he went through a tough time, blaming himself for the whole fiasco. I was relieved when he finally came to grips with the fact that it wasn’t his fault. That he needed to let go. And that life goes on. Well, since the beginning of the ordeal to where it stands now, he is a completely different man. He’s got that spring in his step. That twinkle in his eye. And a couple of weeks ago at a friend’s birthday dinner, I found out why.

My friend and I go way back. Back to our high school days. Well, a good high school friend of ours had a birthday in January and a few of us decided to meet for dinner. And at that dinner, he showed up with another high school friend. One that he dated. And that night it looked like they hadn’t missed a beat! A couple of days later he told me how nervous he was to bring her around, worried about how everyone would react, since technically speaking, he was still married. “Seriously?”, I asked him. “You’re the happiest I’ve seen you in a very long time and you’re worried about what your status is technicallly”? I mean, technically speaking, he was right. The divorce had not been finalized. He was married. But, come on. That ship had sailed. I don’t think I would let some court document that I know to be tainted keep me from being with someone who truly makes me happy. Now, I’m not advocating anyone cheating on anyone here. I’m just saying in this particular instance, his marriage, while not in the eyes of the courts, has been over for some time.

After our chat, he felt a lot better about things. After all, we only have one life to live. We should live it as happy as possible. We don’t have as many opportunities to make good on that as you may think. Sometimes it’s ok to be selfish. Do what makes you happy.

I’ve watched enough news lately to know that this winter could be described as “somewhat harsh”. Snowstorms terrorizing the northeast and mid-west! People getting trapped in their homes! Car accidents! Cities being shutdown because they don’t have enough snowplows, blah, blah, blah! I feel for my fellow citizens going through all that. But they live in places where the winters can be rough. Being a tropical guy myself, I know I wouldn’t do well in that environment. And that is one reason I call San Antonio home. The climate is to my liking. Not too hot, and not too… wait a minute… What the hell??

My dog Murphy. Freezing his balls off.

Let me say it never snows in San Antonio. Never! And in the past when people would get all excited because the forecast called for a couple of snow flurries, nothing would happen. Nada. Zip. Zilch. And I’m cool with that, because I don’t like to be cold! Anyway, It’s gotten to the point whenever someone even hinted at snow in SA I would automatically tune them out. I even told a few people this time around that there was no way it was going to snow this time around. I was wrong.

I know it’s nothing compared to what, say, the New England area gets, but an inch of snow in San Antonio is a big deal. It’s even a bigger deal because people here don’t know how to drive in the white stuff. So tow-truck drivers had a field day today picking up cars and collision centers across the city are no doubt licking their chops with all the business about to head there way. I think I heard something in the neighborhood of 200 car accidents? Who knows what the final tally was.

So I guess Al Gore was right about Global Warming. Or at least I heard that is what’s responsible for all this snow. Makes sense, right? NOT. Go to hell, Al Gore. It’s one of the coldest winters in recent history! I’m definitely not a believer. I wonder how much money this guy has reeled in from convincing people of this crap?

After an early morning meeting today, I was told that I would be doing some extensive traveling this year. A lot of traveling.

I enjoy traveling for work. But it does get old after a while. I’m hoping these trips will be nicely spread out. And hopefully a couple of these will be scheduled for maximum advantage. I’m slated to go to Dallas, New Orleans, Tampa, Washington D.C., Boston, Woonsocket, Las Vegas, and Atlanta. I’m hoping the trips to Tampa and Atlanta (the two I volunteered for) can be scheduled for when the Braves and Buccaneers have home games. That would be perfect! Also, nothing wrong with a trip to Vegas.

Here’s looking forward to those frequent flyer miles. That way I can use those miles to go somewhere I really want to go. Like Sacramento or Jacksonville, N.C. I owe my sisters a visit. I wonder if Southwest flies out there…

I’ve been thinking about what to do for a New Year’s resolution. I really want to take it seriously for once in my life. I don’t think I have ever followed through on any I have made before. Not sure if I even went a day or two on any of those. But hey, maybe this will be the year. Like I’ve never heard that one before.

I don’t want to pick a New Year’s resolution that everyone else picks. Those like losing weight, quit smoking, etc. Well, I don’t smoke. And I don’t need to lose weight (at least I don’t think so). So I need to think outside the box. Something that would benefit me not just for the year, but for life. So I’ve come up with 3 resolutions. Not sure if I’ll be able to do all 3, but it’s worth a shot. So in no particular order:

Wake Up Earlier – If I can avoid sleeping in when I don’t have to, I might be able to make it a habit that I get up early. I’ve come to realize that a huge amount of time is wasted on weekends that I sleep in. So if I turn myself into a morning person, I won’t complain about not having enough time during the day to get stuff done. Makes sense, right?

Stop Eating Out So Much – Now this is going to be difficult to do because eating out is so flippin’ easy to do. But by not eating out, this will force me to learn to cook more. And if I’m doing the cooking, maybe I’m eating healthier in the process. And I’m also saving money! Sounds like a win, win, win.

Prep Clothes for the Week - If I’m ever running late for work, which is more often than I want to admit, it’s because I spend time in the morning ironing or looking for clean clothes to wear. So this year I will start prepping my clothes for the week on Sunday, and hopefully won’t have to worry about it during the week. Might even let me dress better for work. I’m pretty sure my co-workers are tired of seeing me in t-shirts and jeans.

Anyway, there you have it. I challenge anyone out there to have 3 better resolutions than me! Even if your resolution is world peace, at least mine are attainable.

It’s been a year now that my old friend Max checked out early. It was rough trying to cope with that one. Max was a loyal friend for over 10 years, and an extremely handsome dog. Some of my best memories are with him. We had some good times. But life goes on. And I will always remember the good old days. I have Max’s ashes in an urn on my desk in my home office. Hard to look at some times, but the way he’s “smiling” in the pic remind me of how happy a dog he was. I’m not the only one that misses him. Murphy, his brother from another mother, is pretty lonely still. Two things keep me from getting another dog: 1, Murphy didn’t like any dog other than Max, and 2, Max can’t be replaced.

So tonight, I will be throwing back a few in Max’s honor. I seriously hope that it’s true what they say. That all dogs go to heaven. That way, maybe Max can put in a good word for me. Here’s to you, old friend.